My annual Hokkaido photography tours include numerous opportunities to spot and photograph wildlife such as the Ezo Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes schrencki) also known as the Sakhalin fox, which is a subspecies of red fox that thrives in Hokkaido.  These cagey hunters can also be found on the Kuril Islands, Sakhalin, and the surrounding Northern Japanese Islands. The Hokkaido Ezo red fox is larger than the Japanese red fox found on Japan’s other islands: Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu.  Also, there are slight differences in the color of the lines on the outer ears and limbs and black tips on the Hokkaido red foxes’ ears, but other than that, they are very similar.  The source of the difference in the species, is Japan’s two distinct ecological lines dividing Japan's natural indigenous plant and animal life, the Blakiston’s Line and the Watase’s Line.  Due to this uniquely rare ecological condition, Japan is abundantly avifauna rich.  Any red fox found south of the Blakiston’s line (between Hokkaido and Honshu) is slightly smaller and carries a different binomial name, Vulpes vulpes japonicus.  The Ezo Red Foxes mainly feed on rats, hares, birds, and insects, and in the autumn, they enjoy eating fruit and nuts. Mother foxes give birth to their kits in the early spring, so by autumn, it is possible to see young adults recently broken away from their mothers and hunting independently for the first season.  When you spot a young adult or a full-grown Ezo Red Fox, you will marvel at their lustrous coat and witness the contrast of their fur against the stark whites of their surroundings. I have spent over 25 years leading Hokkaido photography workshops and tours spotting and photographing these amazing foxes, but I cannot emphasize enough that these are wild animals, and we Hokkaido locals are concerned now more than ever because of the recent spike in tourism and tourist pollution in Japan contributing to many tourists feeding them to get a snapshot.